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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- (LinuxWorld Expo) - Major Linux
vendors and non-profit organizations today officially launched the DCC
Alliance. The Alliance plans to assemble a common, standards-based Debian
core for Debian-based Linux distributions, accelerate worldwide commercial
adoption of Debian, promote compatibility among the growing community of
Debian derivatives, and work with Debian on features important to commercial
adoption, such as a predictable release cycle and Linux Standard Base (LSB)
compliance.

Founding members of the Alliance include credativ, KNOPPIX, LinEx,
Linspire, MEPIS, Progeny, Sun Wah, UserLinux, and Xandros. The initial
release of the Debian Common Core, expected in the September time frame, will
be based on Debian 3.1 ("Sarge") and certified to LSB. The common core will
be the basis for future releases of each member's Linux products, and the DCC
Alliance will serve as a single point of contact for software and hardware
vendors who want to ensure that their products will work with Debian.

"Debian GNU/Linux already enjoys worldwide acceptance, and by aligning
around a common core, we make Debian more viable in the commercial world,"
said Ian Murdock, Debian founder and leader of the DCC Alliance. "I've talked
to a huge number of companies over the years that tell me their customers ask
about Debian, but that they don't know how to respond because they can't
figure out how to support it. The DCC finally gives them a way to do that.
Through the combined strength of its members the Alliance will fill in the
gaps -- such as LSB compliance -- necessary to attract major industry partners
and propel Debian to its rightful place in the enterprise space."

The DCC Alliance aims to complement and strengthen existing Linux
standardization efforts by collaborating on a single, Debian-based
implementation of the LSB standard that will be deployed worldwide via the
Linux distributions of Alliance members. This way, ISVs and IHVs may certify
to a single, vendor-neutral standard platform while at the same time extend
their reach into under-served geographies and markets.

"The Free Standards Group is pleased that the DCC Alliance is using the
Linux Standard Base as a foundation of its offering," said Jim Zemlin,
executive director of the Free Standards Group. "This is a significant
development for Linux and will further enable the goal of the LSB: a strong
ecosystem of Linux vendors competing around a common, well supported, open
standard. The Alliance's strategy of having ISVs certify to the LSB will make
it easier for ISVs to target the Linux platform and further reduce their
service and support costs. The Debian Common Core strengthens the Linux
industry as a whole."

By building products and services upon and around a common Debian core as
an implementation of existing standards, alliance members and associates can
meet a diversity of market needs while consumers, businesses, schools, and
governments are assured of a standards-based, world-class Linux platform not
controlled by a particular vendor. The Alliance's primary goals are to: * Assemble a 100 percent Debian common core that addresses the needs of

enterprise business users * Maintain certification of the common core with the Free Standards Group

open specification, the Linux Standard Base * Use the Alliance's combined strength to accelerate the commercial

adoption of Debian * Work with the Debian project to ensure predictable release cycles and

features important to commercial adoption The DCC is not a Linux distribution; it is a "base" Debian system composed
of essential programs or "packages" from Debian GNU/Linux, combined with
member additions to attain LSB certification and achieve broad commercial
acceptance and support.

DCC Alliance members will draw from a single software repository with a
common set of enhancements, fixes, and security updates. Each member of the
DCC Alliance can decide what further components they wish to add to their
particular certified distributions. The benefits from this approach include a
pooled development effort, enhanced security, and one standard set of
components that third party application providers can support while preserving
the flexibility for Alliance members to add value for their target markets.

The DCC Alliance is an open development effort, working in conjunction
with Debian, the Free Standards Group and its LSB workgroup, and other
industry projects. Membership is open to additional participants with an
interest in a strong Debian platform. All DCC enhancements will be
contributed to the general Debian community. About the DCC Alliance

The DCC Alliance is an association of organizations and individuals to
assemble a common, standards-based core for Debian-based Linux distributions
and accelerate worldwide commercial adoption of Debian GNU/Linux. Founding
members of the Alliance include credativ, KNOPPER.NET (KNOPPIX), LinEx.org
(Junta de Extremadura), Linspire, Inc., MEPIS LLC, Progeny, Sun Wah,
UserLinux, and Xandros, Inc. For more information, please visit
http://www.dccalliance.org. About the Free Standards Group

The Free Standards Group is an independent nonprofit organization
dedicated to accelerating the use and acceptance of free and open source
software by developing and promoting standards. Key Free Standards Group
projects include the Linux Standard Base (LSB), OpenI18N, LANANA and the new
Accessibility Workgroup. Supported by leaders in the IT industry as well as
the open source development community, the Free Standards Group fulfills a
critical need to have common behavioral specifications, tools and ABIs across
Linux platforms. More information on the Free Standards Group is available at
http://www.freestandards.org. For more information, please contact: